Two pioneers in the next generation of communications technology said Wednesday they'll join forces. Aurora-based Westell Technologies Inc. said it will merge with Amati Communications Corp. in a stock-swap deal valued at about $394 million for Amati shareholders. Amati will keep its name and operate as a subsidiary of Westell, with James Steenbergen remaining as chief executive officer. Amati shareholders will get 0.9 shares of Westell stock for each share of Amati. Based...

Declaring plans to move past an issue that has stoked anger among Woodstock residents, city officials have announced they will take no further action against a police sergeant who text messaged a 12-year-old girl and told her to send him “sexy pictures.” Criticism engulfed city officials after the public learned that Sgt. Charles “Chip” Amati, 48, had been suspended without pay for 30 days rather than being fired. The city's elected officials promised to...

By William Gaines and Howard Reich, Tribune staff reporters | August 19, 2001

The 16th Century castle that sits atop a hill outside Prague, Czech Republic, contains some of the foremost treasures of European culture, including rare musical instruments and historic scores in Beethoven's hand. But during World War II the Nazis raided this palace, as well as several others belonging to the Lobkowicz family, confiscating a priceless collection that was centuries in the making. The remnants of the collection, returned after WWII, are on view at the castle, called...

A line of Woodstock residents came forward to blast city officials Tuesday night over the handling of a police officer who was the focus of a recent investigation into a text message sent to a 12-year-old girl. City council members responded by saying they would continue to look into the city's approach to Sgt. Charles “Chip” Amati and any potential action they could still take. The Tribune revealed Nov. 27 that Amati sent a text message this summer to his then-girlfriend's...

A 12-year-old girl got a series of text messages this summer from her mother's boyfriend, Woodstock police Sgt. Charles "Chip" Amati, according to copies of the messages obtained by the Tribune. One message, punctuated with a text emoticon shaped like a heart, read, "Send me some sexy pictures!" The girl's mother said she alerted authorities, and Illinois State Police investigators discovered something else - that Amati had used a taxpayer-funded law enforcement database to...

Woodstock officials were bombarded with dozens of calls and emails Friday from people questioning or criticizing the city's handling of a police sergeant who was the focus of a recent investigation, the city manager said. The Tribune reported Nov. 27 that Sgt. Charles "Chip" Amati, 48, sent several text messages last summer to his then-girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter, including one reading, "Send me some sexy pictures!" according to copies of the messages. Illinois...

Westell deal scuttled: Texas Instruments Inc. said it agreed to buy Amati Communications Corp. for $395 million in cash, scuttling an earlier stock merger deal the maker of high-speed modems had announced last month. Amati, based in San Jose, Calif., said on Oct. 1 that it had agreed to be acquired by Westell Technologies Inc., an Aurora-based maker of systems for phone line connections, for about $394 million in stock. But Texas Instruments' willingness to pay cash, and...

A 12-year-old girl got a series of text messages this summer from her mother's boyfriend, Woodstock police Sgt. Charles "Chip" Amati, according to copies of the messages obtained by the Tribune. One message, punctuated with a text emoticon shaped like a heart, read, "Send me some sexy pictures!" The girl's mother said she alerted authorities, and Illinois State Police investigators discovered something else - that Amati had used a taxpayer-funded law enforcement database to...

Amati, the luxury-car division of Mazda that goes into operation in 1994, named two Illinois suburbs among the locations for the first dealerships. Amati stores will be opened in Westmont and in Highland Park. The principals of the Westmont dealership will be Richard Cogswell, Raymond Baldi and Thomas Kinnish, operators of Mercedes-Benz and BMW dealerships. Principals of the Highland Park store will be Michael and Glenn Muller, who own Acura, Honda, Pontiac, GMC, Mazda, Volkswagen and...

Family members of a beloved Arlington Heights parks employee who was killed recently in a motorcycle crash say they hope for more awareness from drivers on the road. "Unfortunately, it's not just my father who loses his life, but a lot of people lose their lives because people are in a hurry," said Corey Lulling, the son of the victim. "Too many people out there are making selfish decisions. " Police said Patrick J. Lulling, 54, was driving his 2008 Harley Davidson...

A line of Woodstock residents came forward to blast city officials Tuesday night over the handling of a police officer who was the focus of a recent investigation into a text message sent to a 12-year-old girl. City council members responded by saying they would continue to look into the city's approach to Sgt. Charles “Chip” Amati and any potential action they could still take. The Tribune revealed Nov. 27 that Amati sent a text message this summer to his then-girlfriend's...

A 24-year-old Chicago man is in custody after he used a makeshift flamethrower on a police officer responding to a domestic battery this morning in far northwest Woodstock, officials said. Willie Dunigan III is being held in the McHenry County jail and awaiting a bond hearing after being arrested and charged today after he eluded police for about four and a half hours, said Woodstock Police Sgt. Chip Amati. The incident began at 5 a.m. when police were...

A 24-year-old Chicago man is in custody after he used a makeshift flamethrower on a police officer responding to a domestic battery this morning in far northwest Woodstock, officials said. Willie Dunigan III is being held in the McHenry County jail and awaiting a bond hearing after being arrested and charged today after he eluded police for about four and a half hours, said Woodstock Police Sgt. Chip Amati. The incident began at 5 a.m. when police were...

By Elizabeth Owens-Schiele and Special to the Tribune | August 12, 2013

An Arlington Heights Park District employee was killed Sunday afternoon in a motorcycle crash in Woodstock, officials there said. Patrick J. Lulling, 54, was driving his 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle east on U.S. Route 14 at the intersection of Dean Street in Woodstock when the crash happened at 4:25 p.m., according to Sgt. Chip Amati of the Woodstock Police Department. Amati said Lulling collided there with a 1999 Chrysler Town & Country minivan...

By William Gaines and Howard Reich, Tribune staff reporters | August 19, 2001

The 16th Century castle that sits atop a hill outside Prague, Czech Republic, contains some of the foremost treasures of European culture, including rare musical instruments and historic scores in Beethoven's hand. But during World War II the Nazis raided this palace, as well as several others belonging to the Lobkowicz family, confiscating a priceless collection that was centuries in the making. The remnants of the collection, returned after WWII, are on view at the castle, called...

Declaring plans to move past an issue that has stoked anger among Woodstock residents, city officials have announced they will take no further action against a police sergeant who text messaged a 12-year-old girl and told her to send him “sexy pictures.” Criticism engulfed city officials after the public learned that Sgt. Charles “Chip” Amati, 48, had been suspended without pay for 30 days rather than being fired. The city's elected officials promised to...

`The Amati Girls" is the latest in a long line of films that seek to celebrate the wonders of a large and loving family. This is an admirable goal, but such familiar subject matter must be handled with care and precision -- care and precision that are sorely lacking in this poorly scripted debut effort from actress-director Anne DeSalvo. The eponymous Amati girls are four sisters of an Italian-American family living in Philadelphia. Grace (Mercedes Ruehl), the eldest, is married to an...

Woodstock officials were bombarded with dozens of calls and emails Friday from people questioning or criticizing the city's handling of a police sergeant who was the focus of a recent investigation, the city manager said. The Tribune reported Nov. 27 that Sgt. Charles "Chip" Amati, 48, sent several text messages last summer to his then-girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter, including one reading, "Send me some sexy pictures!" according to copies of the messages. Illinois...